Air Vice Marshal Air vice-marshal (Air Vce Mshl or AVM) is an air officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is also used by the air forces of many Commonwealth of Nations, countries which have historical British infl ...

Stephen Leslie Meredith, is a retired senior officer of the

Royal Australian Air Force The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) is the principal Air force, aerial warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Australian Army. Constitutionally the Governor-Gener ...

(RAAF). He joined the RAAF as a

navigator A navigator is the person on board a ship or aircraft responsible for its navigation.Grierson, MikeAviation History—Demise of the Flight Navigator FrancoFlyers.org website, October 14, 2008. Retrieved August 31, 2014. The navigator's prim ...

in 1986. He has commanded No. 6 Squadron RAAF (2006–08), No. 42 Wing RAAF (2008–10), the Aerospace Operational Support Group RAAF (2014–16) and the Combined Air Operations Centre (2017), and has served on operations in the

Gulf War , combatant2 = , commander1 = , commander2 = , strength1 = Over 950,000 soldiers3,113 tanks1,800 aircraft2,200 artillery systems , page = https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-PEMD-96- ...

War in Afghanistan War in Afghanistan, Afghan war, or Afghan civil war may refer to: *Conquest of Afghanistan by Alexander the Great (330 BC – 327 BC), the conquest of Afghanistan by the Macedonian Empire * Muslim conquests of Afghanistan, a series of campaigns in ...

and in the International military intervention against ISIL. He served as Head Force Integration from 2017 to 2019, before being appointed Deputy Chief of Air Force from July 2019 to January 2023.

RAAF career

Meredith joined the

(RAAF) as an

officer cadet Officer cadet is a rank held by military personnel during their training to become commissioned officers. In the United Kingdom, the rank is also used by personnel of University Service Units such as the University Officers' Training Corps. Th ...

in 1986 and trained as a

. On the completion of his training, he was posted to No. 37 Squadron RAAF at RAAF Base Richmond, serving aboard

Lockheed C-130 Hercules The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is an American four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built by Lockheed Corporation, Lockheed (now Lockheed Martin). Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 w ...

transport aircraft. In December 1990, Meredith was among a detachment from No. 37 Squadron deployed in support of Australia's contribution to the Gulf War. Following his return to Australia in 1991, he completed a conversion course on the

General Dynamics F-111 Aardvark The General Dynamics F-111 Aardvark is a retired supersonic, medium-range, multirole combat aircraft. Production models of the F-111 had roles that included attack (e.g. interdiction), strategic bombing (including nuclear weapons capabiliti ...

and was posted to No. 1 Squadron RAAF at RAAF Base Amberley. Meredith was posted as an instructor navigator in No. 6 Squadron RAAF from 1995 and, on promotion to

squadron leader Squadron leader (Sqn Ldr or S/L) is a senior officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. Squadron leader is immediatel ...

, was assigned to the Defence Material Organisation in 1998. He returned to No. 6 Squadron as

executive officer An executive officer is a person who is principally responsible for leading all or part of an organization, although the exact nature of the role varies depending on the organization. In many militaries and police forces, an executive officer ...

in 1999, graduated from the Australian Command and Staff College in 2002, and was posted as staff officer to the Deputy Chief of Air Force. Promoted

wing commander Wing commander (Wg Cdr or W/C) is a senior officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. Wing commander is immediately se ...

, he was made Deputy Director of Combat Enablers in the Capability Development Group in 2003. He was next appointed executive officer of No. 82 Wing RAAF in January 2006, before assuming command of No. 6 Squadron from December that year. While in command of No. 6 Squadron, Meredith oversaw the retirement of the F-111G. Promoted

group captain Group captain (Gp Capt or G/C) is a senior officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many Commonwealth of Nations, countries that have historical British influence. Group cap ...

in 2008, Meredith was appointed Officer Commanding No. 42 Wing RAAF. In this role, he was part of the team that introduced the Boeing E-7A Wedgetail into Australian service. Following wing command, Meredith deployed to the Middle East as a Battle Director in the Combined Air Operations Centre as part of

Operation Slipper The Australian contribution to the War in Afghanistan (2001-present), war in Afghanistan has been known as Operation Slipper (2001–2014) and Operation Highroad (2015–2021). Australian Defence Force (ADF) operations and the size of the force ...

, Australia's contribution to the

. He returned to Australia as chief of staff to the Chief of the Defence Force, completed the Defence and Strategic Studies Course at the Australian Defence College in 2013 and, promoted

air commodore Air commodore (Air Cdre or Air Cmde) is an air officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is also used by the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence and it is sometimes ...

, was appointed Deputy Air Commander. He was then posted as Commander Aerospace Operational Support Group RAAF in December 2014 and as the first commander of the

Air Warfare Centre RAAF The Air Warfare Centre (AWC) is a Force Element Group of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) based at RAAF Base Edinburgh. It was formerly titled the Aerospace Operational Support Group (AOSG) and was reformed into the AWC in 2016. The role ...

from January 2016. In recognition of his "inspirational leadership, remarkable managerial skill, and extraordinary systems thinking" in these roles, Meredith was appointed a

Member of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honours and awards system, Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Monarch ...

in the 2016 Australia Day Honours. In January 2017, Meredith redeployed to the Middle East as Director of the Combined Air Operations Centre. His "distinguished leadership" during the six-month posting was recognised with the award of the Distinguished Service Medal in the 2018 Queen's Birthday Honours. Following his return to Australia, Meredith was promoted

air vice marshal Air vice-marshal (Air Vce Mshl or AVM) is an air officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is also used by the air forces of many Commonwealth of Nations, countries which have historical British infl ...

and appointed Head Force Integration in the Vice Chief of the Defence Force Group in December 2017. After eighteen months in this joint service role, he succeeded Air Vice Marshal Gavin Turnbull as Deputy Chief of Air Force on 1 July 2019. Meredith relinquished the position in January 2023 and, for his "distinguished service" in this and previous posts, he was promoted to

Officer of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honours and awards system, Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Monarch ...

in the 2023 King's Birthday Honours. The citation for the award described Meredith as "an Aviator of rare skill and ability" who had "been masterful at managing governance across the Royal Australian Air Force".

Personal life

Meredith is married to Sue and has two children. He is an enthusiastic fisherman and a fan of the

Brumbies The ACT Brumbies (known from 2005 to 2022 as simply the Brumbies) is an Australian professional rugby union team based in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory (ACT), The team competes in Super Rugby and named for the feral horses which inh ...

rugby team.

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Meredith, Stephen Australian military personnel of the Gulf War Australian military personnel of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) Living people Officers of the Order of Australia Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (Australia) Royal Australian Air Force air marshals Year of birth missing (living people)